Do you carry knives?, page 1
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ATS Members have flagged this thread 5 times


reply posted on 19-8-2009 @ 06:00 PM by Trams
reply to post by deadoralive



That was fun!
Thanks for the interactive journey! I tried all possibilities after I did it truthfully.



reply posted on 19-8-2009 @ 06:56 PM by Bunken Drum
Cant watch the vid on my phone, but to answer the question: I have a 3" heavy bladed razor sharp lock-knife which is designed to be easily opened with 1 hand, so its like a flick-knife/switchblade (which would be illegal in the UK). Because of its length, I could legally carry it anywhere in the UK, but I only use it when I camp out, as a tool.
To be perfectly frank, if a fight developes, experience has shown that, even against somebody with a knife, unless I was prepared to do them a potentially fatal series of injuries with my own knife, the reality is that I could much more quickly & effectively disable them long enough to make my escape using my fists, feet &/or ye olde head butt to the bridge of the nose.
There's also the escalation to consider. I've been threatened before & attacked. If somebody gets a weapon out, I usually get very violent, more so & quicker than I would if somebody just mouths off & I think I might get punched. If thats how I respond, & I'm pretty peaceful, why should I expect anyone else to behave differently if I pulled out a knife?
On the odd occasion where I've gone somewhere expecting that violence beyond my normal abilities might ensue, I've taken a kubaton, which is a small thick bar of steel which clips to a keyring - also legal, but almost as effective as nunchakus (which aren't legal in the UK). A blow to the shoulder is enough: no need to risk killing a person by hitting them on the head.
You know tho? The most effective weapon, imo, is an air of confidence: staves off a lot of potential violence before it starts. If you really are afraid to go about on your own any time of day or night, I'd suggest you get some martial arts training. Still, I'm thankful I dont live somewhere that I might realistically be confronted by somebody with a gun...


reply posted on 19-8-2009 @ 07:32 PM by Quantazero
Yes! I never leave home without a blade.



reply posted on 19-8-2009 @ 07:51 PM by Dissemination
I have several quality lock knives, and boot knives. I do not carry them on me when I go out, as I am confident enough to believe that time spent in the army and working the doors of Scottish nightclubs as a bouncer many years ago has taught me well enough to be well able to defend myself even against someone with a blade.

This served me well when I was attacked on the royal mile back in the 90’s. The injuries I left one of the attackers with were serious enough to have me arrested and locked up in Saint Lenards police station overnight.

My point (pardon pun) is had I been carrying a knife I would have been for the high jump even if I had not used it. The attacker in question had left me with no choice but to hospitalise him. Turned out he was also on probation for another assault. I was attacked for no reason other than I looked at him for a few seconds too long. Perhaps carrying a large sheath knife attached to a harness under his jacket had given him a sense of power I will never know (and no longer care).

I did nothing to provoke these men to attack me other than I had been crossing the road at the bridges junction of the royal mile with a huge smile on my face which at some point they must have taken offence to. I conclude that was the reason I had been targeted for assault. I think his knife was insurance in case things turned out badly.

That said I have been stabbed twice when in my youth and it hurts dreadfully so unless you intend to take a life then there is no real need to carry one IMHO. There are many other ways to extricate yourself from such unsavoury events and slicing open a fellow human should be right down there at the bottom as everyone makes bad choices from time to time and this is not the medieval age where a wrong choice gives licence to ruin a life.

The blades I do own are strategically and secretly placed around my home in case of weapon carrying intruders and for that reason only. In that event, I will have no hesitation or second thought in bleeding someone out (or dying trying) as I love my wife and my daughters and my duty is their honour, life and safety. I assume an intruder will want to take life if backed into a corner so there is my reasoning behind that.

A saying in the army, “Man with rifle protecting you.” Same rule applies for me in civilian life and that is the reason I own knives but do not carry them with me outside my home unless I am on a camping trip in the highlands but even then they are stored away in my Bergen.

Blade carrying youth on Scottish streets are a scourge, so sad it has come to this.

[edit on 19-8-2009 by Dissemination]


reply posted on 19-8-2009 @ 08:33 PM by Bunken Drum
reply to post by Dissemination
There are many other ways to extricate yourself from such unsavoury events and slicing open a fellow human should be right down there at the bottom as everyone makes bad choices from time to time and this is not the medieval age where a wrong choice gives licence to ruin a life.
Well said
Thats pretty much what I meant above, but you said it better.


reply posted on 19-8-2009 @ 09:25 PM by Majestic23
Four guys tried to mug me and my brother while we were sat in a booth at a nightclub. Its not a great set up. I used a one of the great weapons you can find at most any table in a dimly lit "chillout area".

If I had had a knife I have no doubt I would be in prison now, there were no weapons check at the door or anything so any one of those guys or us could have had any number of nasty things on us (they didnt the police informed us). Never mind the ash trays, beer bottles and other things that are at hand.

Personally I think all weapons should be illegal to carry on the street until you get to those very small Swiss Army knives.

As others have mentioned being sensible, having an air of confidence and getting away are the main things to help avoid this stuff. But if you are caught in a situation where you cant escape because of the location or because you need to look after someone then there are some things to consider.

There is no problem with two guys having a carpark fight other than it is foolish and unsafe. But things arent like that anymore and they are going to sneak up on you while one diverts you with an argument, outnumber you, stamp on you when you are down, attack you while you are with vulnerable people and use weapons, wait for you to be in a place you cant get out of or get help.

Make things equal.


Strike first and you have a much greater chance. Dont be a sucker, if it looks like you are about to get attacked dont let that voice in your head say "but what are the consequences of my actions, will I end up in jail, will I make him more mad etc...", this is past the point of thinking. We probably arent all Tai Chi Masters, we aret going to be able to stay all cool under these circumstances so things are going to get confusing and messy and you will sort of black outand your adrenaline will make it feel like you are in bullet time. Get the first hit and they are on the back foot, suddenly you arent the sucker victim anymore, they are.
And then dont stop going crazy, shouting screaming and attacking with a single mindedness that would make old time cowboy films go "thats one single minded sonofagun". The hardest opponent to fight is one that decides he is going to bite off your nose and one stop trying until its done.
Get a the nearest thing you see thats heavy or sharp and use it.
Postion yourself where you cant be surround. lead a group through an area where only one can propely reach you.

That fight I mentioned up there I was pretty delerious by the end of it, I was still fighting long after I knew what I was doing. Halfway through the fight the bouncers took over from the assholes and started beating me with those closed hand punches they do, I still thought I was fighting the other guys. Thats how confusing it is.

The thing was though that looking back that situation could have totally been avoided. We had long hair and was wearing suits (ironically we had just been to a charity auction and speech with Ricky Hatton) and we were quite young and looked like out of place victims who would probably give up the wallets without any trouble. And to cap it off we were in the upstairs area of the club, and nobody was there but the DJ getting ready. And then like the naive lads that we went and sat in a booth. Stupid. This happened within about 5 minutes of us getting in the place, I hadnt even taken a sip of my drink.

A lot of people have anxiety about such things coming their way. But most of us are capable of causing total carnage if in the right mindset, we have fight or flight reactions which are amazing but dangerous, they can make us freeze on the spot or stab a bunch of people who might not have deserved it.

Maybe its a personal thing because I associate blades with knife fighting and getting stabbed when the right way to look at it is having a trusty tool but I wont carry one.
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